This is Their Battlefield
by Call Me Bas
Summary: Sawamura never had a coach in junior high. But what if he did? What would happen? His catcher would be able to catch his pitches, he would learn how to throw properly and he would gain a weapon with untapped potential; that's what would happen. In which a stronger Sawamura joins Seido/Canon based
1. How it Began

**This story follows canon. Prior apologies for any discrepancies.**

 **Disclaimer – I do not own Diamond no Ace**

* * *

 **How it Began**

"I am Mitsuhide Akeshi, your new coach..."

He was an old, retired man. Fortunately agile enough that he didn't need a cane yet. Though you could hear his knees creaking with every step like an old oak threatening to fall at the lightest breeze. Mitsuhide was very healthy all things considered. But an 85 year old man shouldn't be working, especially if he didn't even have to. He didn't need the money –not that this job was giving him enough to live off of anyway– and yet here he was, coaching for a bunch of babies. He only took this job because his wife said he was being a cranky old man with too much free time on his hands.

 _'Find something to do or you're making your own food from now on!'_

An ominous threat.

He smiled. His wife was always cute when she got angry. It made her look 30 years younger too. 'Oh Mitchiko-chan, I miss the days you could chase me around the house with your duster for tracking in mud again.' At least then he had a chance of getting away, now she just threw the closest things to her at him.

A cough from one of the young boys standing in front of him brought him back from his musings.

"It is to my understanding that this school hasn't had a coach for the baseball team in over 5 years. So, it is safe to assume that you second and third years have probably not had any proper instruction since joining…" Mitsuhide felt silly. Only 5 of the 15 kids were actually paying attention. The others were either looking elsewhere and picking their noses or having a… burping competition?

"…"

They really were just a bunch of country bumpkin babies with the attention span of a potato.

'Ahhh Mitchiko-chan! What did you make me do?! I'm not cut out for this!' Did kids even know how to throw a baseball at this age? What was he like back then?

Definitely on the taller side, these brats barely reached his chest. And he was slouching!

He cleared his throat intentionally loud. 'Ooo look! three more just looked up!'

"We'll start by going around, saying your name, year and what position you play." two more looked up, he was making progress! "We'll start with You! Shrimpy with the girly belch!"

The kids standing next to the boy laughed and nudged at the brown haired boy who turned red in the face. The kid tucked his head to his chest and his shoulders were shaking minutely.

Mitsuhide was just beginning to think he might have taken a step too far when the kid… exploded.

"Who'reya calln' a shrimp ya overgrown wrinkled raisin! My burps are the manliest of manly burps you will ever get ta' hear!"

One of the kids standing next to the screaming boy nudged him stage whispering, "What are you doing? You're not supposed to yell at the teachers. What if he kicks you off the team?"

'Was he allowed to do that?' Mitsuhide thought to himself. "An exhalent point." He decided to just roll with it. "If you don't introduce yourself with your grade and position in the next 10 seconds, I will have to expel you from any further participation for as long as I am coach." He used his glare from the days of his prime and zeroed in on the kid who paled and looked as though he was about to wet himself… Actually, they all looked like they were about to wet themselves. 'hehe, still got it.'

"You're not saying anything shrimp. Does that mean you want to quite? It's already been 5 seconds."

"W-W-W-W-Wait! Wait! No! I want to play! Um! Um! 7th grade! Um! O blood type! Um! Um! Um! Oh! Pitcher! P-Please don't kick me off the team!" The boy finished with a ninety degree bow.

"And your name is...?"

"Sawamura Eijun!"

Over two years later

Coach Mitsuhide stood in the shade of the dugout, watching the start of his team's 4th game. This was how far the team managed to get last year. They had been just two points away from making it into regional championships, but couldn't get passed the opponents curveball. None of them knew how to hit one and the school couldn't afford to buy the equipment to allow them to practice for it. Still, it was further than Mitsuhide had expected them to get. The team was a tad above average at best, but what really made the difference was whenever it looked like the team was in a pinch, the pressure seemed to only make them stronger. Their drive fueled by their fiery wills, pushing them through. And at the very center was their ace. Lighting the fire of determination in their bellies and inspiring confidence in them that they could go as far as they wanted with him leading the way. They all looked up to their captain and ace as their pillar of strength.

'It's hard to believe it's already been two years.' He had only been planning on coaching for a few months too. But here he was, coaching Akagi in its last season. There were only 9 players left on their team at this point. The whole line-up comprised of only 9th graders since that was all that was left of the school.

He snuck a glance towards the stand, looking for the woman who had confronted him earlier that day.

 _"Why am I coaching? Isn't it obvious?"_

 _The woman just raised a brow and crossed her arms. "Someone of your caliber who's been retired from this line of work for over 50 years suddenly decides to work again not only in an easily looked over district but also for a school that's about to get torn down. No. Your intentions are not very clear."_

 _"Well there's no hidden agenda, if that's what you're wondering about. The school just happened to be down the street from my house and I was getting bored. So I thought I'd teach these brats how to play baseball. They're all just here to have fun."_

 _"Was it 'just having fun' that led your team to almost make championships last year? What are you hiding, Iron Grip Mitsuhida-san?"_

 _"I've got nothing up my sleeves!"_

 _The woman's glasses glinted as she adjusted them, giving the man an unimpressed look._

 _"Honest! Look, you'll just have to see for yourself in today's game. You didn't come all the way from Tokyo just to sightsee did you?"_

"Mitsuhide-dono!"

A tick mark appeared on his head as he looked down at the team's 'pillar of strength'. No matter how many times that hyperactive brat called him out like that, it still irked him to no end. And no matter how many times he yelled at the brat to stop him from calling him that, the message just couldn't get through the kid's bull-headedness.

Sawamura Eijun, with the rest of the team standing behind him, kneeled down like a samurai in front of its master with his head bowed. "We are about to go forth into battle, won't you please give us your blessing?!"

He was about to smack the back of the kid's head like he always did, but when he saw the fire burning in all of the kids' eyes he thought, 'why the heck not?' And decided to indulge in his wannabe mini samurai.

With his stricter voice he called out. "You have my blessing!" While simultaneously thinking 'I feel stupid.' But the looks on their faces was worth it. "Now huddle up! We'll be batting first. Swing wild on the first pitch. You know what to do after that. Baichu, if you can, corner the pitcher. You'll be the one to set up first impressions on the other team. Our opponents have a stronger offense then they do with their defense, but that doesn't mean we can let our guard down. Follow through and plant your feet. Now fists in!"

Their ace and captain, Sawamura, stepped into the middle of the huddle and bent down grabbing a fistful of dirt. He stood up and began speaking as he let some of the dirt fall on the fists one by on. "Who are you?!" He asked one of his teammates.

"A warrior!"

"What is this field?!" He asked another.

"Our battle field!"

"How do you fight?!"

"With my bat!"

"Do you fight alone?!"

"No!"

"How do you defend?!"

"With my glove."

"Do you defend alone?!"

"No!"

He pumped his fist up. "How do we fight?!"

"As one!"

"How do we defend?!"

"As one!"

"Let's make this battlefield ours!"

Everyone yelled and crowded in the middle with all of their fists pumping in the air. The siren went off in the background and the game began.

In the bleachers, Takashima Rei watched as the game played out, contemplating the talk she had earlier with Akagi's coach. "See for myself, he says."

It was already noteworthy that the team had managed to make it this far with just the bare minimum members. But what did he mean before, was there something special about this team? Or had they only gotten this far because they had _him_ as a coach? As far as she could tell with their batting, there was nothing that really stood out.

"Strike three, batter out! Change sides!"

They seemed pretty average in that sense. Her eyes traveled over to the zero lit up next to Akagi's name on the score board. Maybe they had a better defense. Rei watched as a brown haired boy stepped onto the mound expressing a large grin on his face as he set himself up for warm up pitches. 'A south-paw then?'

The first surprise came when the first batter started making his way towards the batter's box. The pitcher turned towards the outfield and raised his arms in the air before screaming out, "I'll be sending balls flaying, so thankyou everyone in advance for your support!"

"We're right behind you Eijun!"

"Do what you do best Eijun!"

"We've got your back Eie-chan!"

She commemorated the pitcher to be able to make his teammates look at him the way they did. It was almost as though the whole field had grown a bit brighter.

"Batting first, left fielder Hideyoshi-kun."

The pitcher nodded to the catcher's signal and began his wind-up. First pitch was a fast ball, away and low. The next was a ball, away and low. He threw the third pitch. 'He has a basic form and his speed is pretty go-hmm?'

"Strike!"

The catcher threw the ball back at the pitcher. 'Was that a breaking ball? No, it was too fast for it to be that. But it had sharp movement at the plate.'

The batter was struck out and the second batter hit a pop fly to third. When the third batter came around, Rei began to notice there was a little more to the pitchers form than she first thought. 'That last pitch had his arm almost all the way up, but I remember him throwing something that was almost a side-arm pitch too. Does he just have bad arm control or is it intentional? Is his range that large? No decent coach would let their pitchers pitch strenuous pitches when they're this young.'

And then he threw a change-up.

"Strike! Batter out, change sides!"

'So he does have a breaking ball. And it drops very sharply at the plate. It's almost like a sinker.

Rei had heard of a few pitchers that had tried to throw at multiple angles. But most pitchers would have a hard time with it because it would feel so unnatural. A pitcher had a set range of where they could swing their arm down with next to no strain. And in most cases, their bodies could only handle a small range that would give them at most two different angles they could throw in. One of the pitchers at the high school she worked at, for example, was a side-arm pitcher because the way the muscles in his scapula were shaped put him in more strain if he threw it vertically like many pitchers. It was the same for other pitchers the other way around. They tended to stick with the way that felt the most comfortable because their arms would be built for the least resistance in that range. However, this kid looked to have a wide range of the angles he could throw at. That could be a very useful weapon if it was mastered.

And as the game went on, she realized he had to be controlling the angle his arm swung down. Otherwise that boy would have to have had inhuman luck.

The game ended at 1-3 Akagi. A mistake by the infielders at a crucial moment lead to the other team getting the first run in the fifth inning. She expected the pressure to be too much for a team that didn't look to get very far in tournaments. But then their team member carrying the ace number seemed to just smile even bigger, yelling at the opposing team to be prepared for an 'epic' counter attack in the next inning. Declaring loudly how he trusted his team that they could pull through it together. His teammates roared out in agreement and a new brighter and hotter fire was burning within each of them. And now they were all sporting the same feral grins.

Then, in the next inning, Akagi scored a run. Then another in the 7th inning and again another in the 9th.

'A pitcher with that kind of influence on a team huh?' She thought wistfully. "Sawamura Eijun, I wonder what sort of pitcher you would become if you joined Seido?"

* * *

 **If you have any requests that are not pairings I would be glad to hear about them. I look forward to writing out the plans I have for Sawamura's skills that have not been shown yet.**

 **Originally this story was going to be about Sawamura going into the same team as Todoroki Raichi. Though that meant I couldn't write much about Seido. It was going to be call the 'Ultimate Duo', but I didn't want to make a bunch of OC's. They don't show enough for me to go on to create accurate characteristics of the team members they did show. If anyone wants to use this idea, please, by all means. Just let me know so I can read it. I'm really curious how it would have turned out if I actually got to writing it. I have part of the beginning written out if you want it too.**

 **What to look foraward to: Sawamura pitches to Miyuki for the first time**


	2. A Promise & A Challenge

**Sapphermine: I know what you mean! I was looking for this kind of story too and just got tired of waiting. Do you know of any other stories like this one or with time travel like PK Samurai's 'The Trajectory of Laughter'?! (It can be for any sport anime)**

 **Guest & HannaMargarita: Thankyou so much for your support!**

 **Naliyu: I love that you love it! Hmmm… Sawamura's batting. I'm sorry I can't think of anything to say without spoiling anything besides the fact that Sawamura is, and will always be, the 'Bunt Master.'**

 _Flashbacks_

 _'_ thoughts'

* * *

 **A Promise & A Challenge**

"And the game is over! The match between Tenbaji Junior High and Akagi Junior High has ended with a score of 0 – 2! Tengbaji will be taking their win to face against Shiratori in two days. Akagi's team put up a marvelous fight! Coming from a school that will be officially closed down by next spring! They've made it all the way to the National's third round with only nine members! We look forward to seeing what they can accomplish in their High School career!"

{}

When they won Regional Championships, they went on to Nationals representing the Nagano prefecture. It was Akagi's first ever appearance in the tournament and also their last.

With dedicated teamwork they managed to win in the first round and just skimmed by in the second round. But their third game became the last game to ever be played by Akagi Junior High. It was a proud yet depressing moment. They made Nationals! A feat of itself. Others found out that it wasn't a fluke that they made it this far when they won their first match in the Yokahama Stadium. And yet having had a taste of National competition, they couldn't help but want more.

So when the team stood out in their beaten down field lined up in front of their coach, the day after the game. It was understandable for them to be laden with heavy hearts. They had known it was inevitable, they just couldn't help but wish that this day would have never come. After all, this would be the last day Mitsuhide would be their coach. He was going back into retirement and they were going into high school. They had known it was going to happen, but they couldn't help but hope that by some miracle they could all continue to play baseball together with Coach Mitsuhide watching over them.

"My little brats." His voice seemed a little less harsh than usual. "Your world is about to get much bigger in the next few months. And I won't be there to witness any more of your stupid mistakes. So it'll be your jobs to laugh at them in my place. You guys played some good baseball over the years and have grown more than I would have ever expected. It seems as though these three years have run away from us." He coughed while looking to the side and mumbled, "And I guess it was a _little_ fun being your guys' coach… while it lasted."

Some of the member started crying, Sawamura being in the worst state.

"I'm gonna miss his crooked grin when he makes us run with sandbags around the field!"

"I'm gonna miss his harsh words spoken through that soft complexion!"

"I'll always remember his cruel remarks to get me through the day!"

"Mitsuhide-dono~!"

"He was such a good coach even though he made me cry every day!"

"Oi! Quite acting like I've died! I live right there! Sheesh! You'll still see me around, I'm just not your coach anymore."

They cried harder.

"Noooo!"

"We'll still be humiliated every day!?"

"I don't think I can handle feeling like useless space anymore!"

"You ungrateful maggots! I should have you clean the fungus from my toes for that disrespect!" Mitsuhide breathed out through his nose and muttering out nonsensical insults. Why did these kids always have to raise his blood pressure like they did? It was good he didn't have to coach for them anymore, otherwise they were going to be the death of him.

"Mitsuhide-dono!" Sawamura stood in front of him with his fists clenched and a serious expression on his young face, and evident tear stains. "We don't want you to leave. We'd rather you come to work at Miyoshi High so we can all stay together."

Mitsuhide snorted. This kid was always spewing out embarrassing things. Saying whatever was on his mind, no filters attached. He was a real simpleton that Sawamura.

"But, we also know it is an impossible dream. And even if you aren't around, we'll still always hear you yelling at us every day! This is our last practice all together so… Mitsuhide-dono…" Sawamura bowed so you couldn't see his expression, but you could still spot the suspicious water falling to the ground. "Thankyou very much!"

The team mirrored their captain and yelled out their gratitude. The frown lines became more prominent on Mitsuhide's face and furrowed his eyebrows before swiftly turning their back on them. "You lot better be grateful! I would have left years ago, but you twisted my leg and forced me to stay! I probably lost a few months of my life-span being around you klutzy fools. Now be gone with you!" He said with a wave of his hand. He started walking away when he stopped suddenly. "Oh." He had almost forgotten. He half turned towards them. "Sawamura, the principal told me to let you know that he wanted to talk to you about something during break-time tomorrow."

"Eh! Me?! Why?! What'd I do?!"

'Too easy.' Mitsuhide just couldn't help it. "Ohhh, didn't you hear? He's having the bottom ten percent averaging students take extra classes and extending the rest of their school days."

Sawamura turned to stone. "Eh…"

"Good luck with that, number one idiot of Akagi." And then he left.

A look of absolute horror slowly crawled along Sawamura's face. "M…More… he says?"

'Eijun, you're too gullible.' The simultaneous thought ran through the rest of the team.

Wakana, Eijun's childhood friend and only female member of the team, took a step towards her friend-turned statue with an exasperated huff. "Eijun-kun. You should know by now that this is just another one of Coach's tall-tales. How is it that you always fall for it when you're the one he's done it to the most?"

The statue suddenly come back to life. "It was?!" The pitcher took a big sigh of relief and pumped his fist. "Yosh! The coach must have been trying to get me ready for intense situations all this time!" A bubbling aura surrounded Sawamura in his excitement. "I will forever be in your debt Mitsuhide-dono." He exclaimed seriously. Everyone else sweatdroped.

"Eijun-kun…" Wakana sighed.

{The next day}

Sawamura stood in the principal's office doorway with a dazzling smile. He bowed and walked in with a confident stride. The principal was standing over by the window and the teacher who supervised for the baseball team was standing off to the side. "Hello my good sirs! To what do I owe the honor of being in your presence?" He asked in a gallant voice.

"Sawamura! Greet us properly for once!"

The old, gentle-eyed principle chuckled. "It's quite all right, Sano-sensei. It is good to have such a bright personality in the office every now and again. Especially with how few in numbers it has occurred over the year and how even fewer there will be in these last months."

Sano looked down with a melancholic look at the principal's words. "Sorry, Kocho-sensei."

The principal raised his hand in a calming manner. "No need." He said with a kind smile. "Besides, I would rather we move on to why I asked young Sawamura-kun here. Sawamura-kun, if you would." He gestured to one of the seats in the room. He waited until the 9th grader sat down before he started talking again. "This is likely not something you want to discuss, but we need to talk about your grades."

'Wait…'

"Your grades have averaged in the lower five percent of your year."

'This… this can't be happening!'

"I am concerned about your academic career."

'Mitsuhide-dono wasn't lying?!'

"So I have asked you here to discuss with you about-"

"You're gonna make me take extra classes and make my school days longer?!" Sawamura cut off with a terrified look. All of those extra hours he would be forced to stay in his school. He would practically be living there then! 'What did I do to deserve this!?'

"Sawamura! Don't interrupt Kocho-sensei!" His teacher yelled at him.

The principal just chuckled again before continuing. "As much as I wouldn't mind have you around more, that is not something we can actually do."

Sawamura paused, blinking a few times before he flung his head back and ridiculed himself quietly for falling for Mitsuhide-dono's tricks again.

"But as I was saying," He waited for Sawamura to sit back up. "I wanted to discuss with you about your plans for the future."

"Sawamura-kun, being the character that you are, I can guess that you haven't put much thought into where you're going for high school."

"I'm going to Miyoshi High like everyone else of course!" He answered excitedly.

"Yes, but do you know how you'll be getting in?"

"Huh?" Sawamura sat confused.

A sad look came upon the principal's face as he spoke the next words. "They don't have a scholarship for baseball there Sawamura-kun."

"So… what? That just means I have to test in right?"

"Miyoshi High School is within the top ten hardest to test into schools of our region. Unless you have been studying like the rest of your teammates, your chances are regrettably low. By your test grades, I can guess that you haven't."

"W-Wait! But I promised everyone that I would take us all to Koshien! How am I supposed to do that if we aren't even in the same school?!" He asked panicked.

His teacher stepped closer and rested a hand on his shoulder. "We know this isn't something anyone would want to hear, especially not the day after your guys' last practice. But you need to start considering looking at different high schools. One's that might accept you through a baseball scholarship."

"But… I promised." He barely whispered.

The principal watched somberly as the light in the young pitchers eyes started to dim. He never like seeing any of his students with such a lost and defeated expression. They should be as care free as they wanted while they still could. He was truly proud of the boy for dedicating himself to something he loved. To think that they had all managed to carry Akagi to Nationals for its first time in years. They had all worked so hard together, forging unforgettable bonds together through the trials and hardships they faced together while playing their sport. Splitting that up, was not something he wanted to do. "I think that it is time you return to class now. We can continue this conversation another time." He watched as Sawamura stood and distractedly bowed.

"Thankyou for your time. Excuse me." Walking out the door and towards his classroom.

The halls were quiet aside from some of the students you could hear talking through the closed doors. He stopped and looked outside, you could see the practice field from here. He heard laughter somewhere far off.

 _It was the first time they had ever won a game. First year Sawamura was a relief for their third year pitcher at the time. All of the kids were ecstatic, jumping up and down. Their coach sat on the bench with his hands covering his ears from their overly loud screaming. Sawamura had hooked his arms around the necks of two of his friends. "We can do it! It's possible!" He cried out, nearly suffocating his teammates._

 _The third years laughed and the captain gave the ball of energy a good noogie. "Of course it's possible, it's always been possible." Even as a 7_ _th_ _grader, Sawamura already had a charismatic air about him that brought the people around him closer together._

 _"I want us to all play baseball together forever!"_

 _"Hahaha! What are you saying Sawamura? You're gonna make us all play baseball even when we get to be as old as coach?" Everybody laughed and commented about how they might manage something like that. All of them as a bunch of old men moving around with walkers trying to get on base._

…He wasn't ready to give up his team.

"Ei-chan!" His friends greeted him when he walked into the classroom. They all went to gather around him near the entrance. Seeing all of his friends together like this brought the smile back to life on his face.

"So? What was it they wanted?"

"Did you get in trouble?"

Sawamura put on a big smirk. "Yeah, they were all upset about my terrible grades."

"Haha! That's right, you're a true idiot aren't you Eijun?"

"But any school would want you for their baseball team."

Wakana, sitting at her desk with the other girls in the class frowned. "Having terrible grades is nothing to be proud of Eijun, what if it affects your chances of getting into Miyoshi High?"

The other boys looked at each other in worry. Of course they were all hoping to go to Miyoshi High together. There were brought out of there nervous attitudes by the boisterous laugh of the very person they were worried about. Wakana and everyone looked towards him surprised.

"What's with you guys?!" He hooked his arms around the necks of the two closest guys. Who also happened to be the very same two he nearly choked in his first year. "No need to be so blue and worried! We'll all get to go to the same high school one way or another!" He righted himself as he stood in the center of everyone. An air of calm confidence swirling around him. "After all, even if the schools merge and ours gets demolished, we'll stay together and keep the spirit of Akagi Junior High alive!" He looked at each of his friends directly in the eyes as he spoke. "We held strong as a team all through junior high. No matter how tough the situation was, we never quite and we played to the best of our abilities. We achieved something for this school that goes beyond just us being able to play in Nationals… We let all of Japan know just who the people of Akagi Junior High are. And it will be remembered for the mark it's made."

All of his friends were filled with a sense of pride and elation at their captains compelling words. They were all in agreement. They had succeeded in their goal of taking Akagi to the Nationals.

Pumping a fist into the air he declared loudly, "Just you wait, Nationals! Akagi's spirit is coming back with a vengeance! We're coming to take you over and make ourselves the Champions next year!" He ended with an arrogant laugh.

A few of the others sweat dropped. 'Where's he get his self-confidence from?'

"So…" Wakana began. "How do you plan on getting in?"

The cheerful mode was immediately broken and Sawamura froze and broke out into a cold sweat.

"W-Well, Miyoshi doesn't exactly have a baseball scholarship… so I'll just have to get by with the entrance exam." He answered nervously, rubbing the back of his head.

Dread filled the souls of everyone in the room.

'His grades are worth for shit, how is he supposed to pass the entrance exam like that?!'

'It's official, he's doomed.'

'His brain is the biggest of our worries, there's no hope for him.'

"What's with that look from everybody?! Don't tell me you're giving up on me?! Common, we can all get together and study right?"

"We've all been studying like any normal person would have."

"Seriously you guys?!"

"Sorry Ei-chan."

"Oi! I'm still stuck on fractions in math, you gotta' help me!"

"It's too late."

"Yeah, there's no time. It's best to just give up now."

"Never give up!"

In the end, everyone offered what help they could. Passing on all of their notes, highlighted texts, practice problems and notecards. They wished Sawamura luck as he carried home his mountain of scholarly wisdom.

"I'm home." He called out miserably.

His grandpa met him at the entryway. "Oh, Eijun, you're back already? There's a guest here to-" He stopped in his tracks. "Oi! What's with this aura?!"

"I'm doomed Jii-chan. There's no way I can finish all of this in time. I might just have to get held back a year till I can be smart enough to get into Miyoshi."

"Now hold on there!"

A psychotic smile appeared over Sawamura's pale face "That's it! I'll just have to get held back like a yakuza and-"

SLAP

"Get that 'the end is near' expression off your face! Someone came all the way from Tokyo just to talk with you! So get off your bum, wash your face and get your lazy ass to the living room!"

"Eh?" He looked up at his grandfather through his tears, feeling his cheek becoming numb.

"On the double!"

With no further need for motivation, Sawamura booked it to the bathroom and to the living room in record time. He walked in, noticing the woman seated on the other side of the chabudai from the rest of his family. His mother patted the spot in front of her between his father and his grandfather. Once he sat down, the woman leaned forward to slide, what looked to be, an identification card towards them.

"It's nice to finally meet you Sawamura Eijun. My name is Takashima Rei, I am the assistant coach of the Seido High School Baseball Club."

{18 hours later}

Sawamura stared out the window of the car that had picked him up from the train station. Rei smiled as she watched him through the rear view mirror. Going from astonished and then to faked boredom when he caught himself and then back to excited when he saw something new. He acted like a child that had just stepped into wonderland. She couldn't wait to see how he would react when he saw Seido's baseball fields. She wondered if she should record it for his parents.

"So Sawamura-kun, how are you liking Tokyo so far?"

Sawamura quickly feigned boredom again and replied. "Eh, it's ok. The people all look as stuck up as I thought they would."

"Hmm, it's too bad you feel that way. Hopefully you'll think a little better of our team." They pulled into the school's parking lot and made their way towards the practice fields. His sports bag containing some of his gear that she had told him to bring, slid off his shoulder when he caught his first look of the fields. She smirked at the stupefied visage on his face, which was slowly turning blue as he forgot to breathe in his shock. "Do you like it? This is our 'prestigious' baseball practice field." She said, mocking what he had called their school the other day. "Our indoor practice area is over there and most of the team members live in the dorms."

Not even paying her any attention, Sawamura ogled at the equipment he had never seen before scattered about. "Woaahh! What is that machine? There's so much alien technology here!" There was a beat, and then he remembered the woman standing behind him and the unimpressed persona he was trying to maintain. "T-This doesn't change a thing! I still think you're all just a bunch of snobbish elites with too much money in their pockets!" He turned his glare towards the field. "Besides, we made it to Nationals with just a ball and a bat! You don't need all this fancy equipment to play baseball!" He huffed through his nose as he mentally took note of the large number of team members. There had to be over 50 members! "I bet you all just gather the best players from all around dont'chya! It makes sense for you guys to be strong then! In fact…" An untamable fire-like aura shot out of him. "I would be disgusted to lose to a bunch of elite players that get anything they want!"

"I won't deny that at least half our team members are from out of our prefecture. They are all here to study baseball abroad, so to speak."

'It seems more like a miscellaneous patchwork of mismatched, expensive fabrics to me!'

"At this day and age, Japanese High School baseball is considered to be the best in the world. Scouts from the Majors sometimes come to invite players to their teams. For this very reason, fifteen-year-old boys leave home to come to these kinds of intense environments so that they may reach their full potential and beyond. I personally respect those who have that kind of determination."

'Determination?' He turned around again and really looked at the players out in the fields. The purposeful expressions fixed on all of their expressions. There was no hesitation in any of their movements. Even some of the more tedious routines were done in absolute seriousness.

Sawamura swallowed. The palpable tension was making his throat dry. These players were no joke.

Some yelling coming from over by where batters were going against some of the pitchers, caught his attention. The heavy weighted batter was yelling at the much smaller pitcher who looked to be out of breath. It struck a chord when the batter started belittling the pitcher's efforts and saying there were plenty of other pitchers to replace him. He got that the batter was probably trying to motivate the pitcher to do better, but the way he was going about it rubbed Sawamura the wrong way.

"You should keep an eye on his batting. That's Azuma Kiyokuni, he hit 42 home runs in his high school career. He's one of the players who will be drafted this year."

Just then, Azuma hit the next pitch with a solid 'klang'. It flew almost gracefully over the far back fence.

The batter flippantly waved his hand in the air. "It's like I'm swinging through air! You're gonna make me lose my edge at this rate! Kawakami! You're done! Get off the mound! Someone carry him out and put him in a box to ship him back home!"

Sawamura clenched his fists. "Why's he like that?" He muttered. 'He's your teammate! You don't dis your teammates like that!' With a set resolve he took in a deep breath. Rei took notice in his change. Pretending like he wasn't talking to anyone in particular he yelled out, "He's gonna go pro with a body like that?! You can't be serious! Just look at his belly!" Laughing boisterously, he patted his tummy for emphasis. Rei was trying to get him to stop in the background. "He looks like a forty-year-old priest! His papers must be forged, there's no way he's in High School!"

The batter seethed and glared towards the offending person. "Who in the world are you to make fun of my cute belly? You $!&!#* #& %!" He growled out.

"Cute belly?! What sort of lie are you living in if you believe that?! When was the last time you could see your whole body in the mirror you fat-ass?!" When Sawamura's team played in the prelims, the spectators that would be cheering for the opposing side seemed to always get more and more creative with their insults as they got further into the tournaments.

So picking up a few things here and there was… inevitable.

The batter lost it and stomped his way through the other members who had tried to hold him back and towards the Sawamura, who stuck out like a sore thumb.

"Stop there Azuma-kun! Sawamura, apologize right now!"

Completely ignoring her he seethed. "This is supposed to be studying baseball abroad? They may all have that special determination that makes them tough. But just being better than most people doesn't mean you have the right to go out and make fun of other people's efforts. Especially not your own teammate! Laughing at his pitches and telling him to give up… everyone else here may be fine with it, but that is not something I can just simply accept." A precious memory of all of his friends smiling at him and encouraging one another, played out in his head. "Baseball is not something you can play by yourself!" The older batter was directly in front of him now and stopped their charge just before he was plowed over. The other's belly hit Sawamura in the chest and forcing him to take a step back to regain his balance. But despite the murderous glare the batter was giving him from almost an entire foot length higher, it didn't deter Sawamura in the least as he gave his own scorching glare right back. His glare equivalent to that of an angry predator. "Did this elite school not teach you that baseball is a team sport?!" And he was just about to spew out another bucket of insults when Takashima Rei stepped between them and started apologizing to the merderous pork-chop.

"This kid just came out of the countryside, he still has a lot to learn about the real world. And he's also a pitcher. If you could show him some real batting. That might help him pick things up a little faster, don't you think?"

"Sure. I'll let him." Azuma sneered at the boy. "He thinks he can take me on? Ha! The only way he'll be getting off the mound is on a stretcher!" There was no way that expression on Azuma's face could be considered a smile.

"Don't be so sure about that Jumbo, things might end up the other way around if you don't take me seriously." With confidence that couldn't quite be considered arrogance, he turned towards Takashima who was looking at him surprised. "Takashima-san, if it's all right, may I go and change into my uniform?"

"Y-yeah, sure…" She wasn't expecting him to accept it right away. 'Was he the, 'pounce at any opportunity for a challenge' kind of guy?' She thought as she watched him walk away with his sports bag.

A short ways behind her she heard a chuckle. "This sounds interesting." It was a boy wearing sporting glasses sitting down next to some of the other spectating members. "Rei-chan, is it ok if I catch for this guy?"

Azuna glared at the boy. "Oi! Miyuki! You're a first year! Don't be butting in!"

"Hehe! Sorry." Miyuki said sarcastically. "But you know Azuma, you've kinda' been high on your horse lately. So I was just thinking how it might be good playing with us kids to brush up on your basics."

"Who's on a high horse?!"

Miyuki just smirked when those around him warned him that he'd probably gone too far with their senior and was gonna get in trouble with him later. His gaze traveled towards where he saw that kid from earlier leave. He look vaguely familiar, but he couldn't put his finger on it. Maybe he just had one of those faces.

{}

As Sawamura got changed into his Akagi baseball uniform he continued to think about what his coach had told him and the rest of the team years back.

It was at a time when they had just begun to be able to play well enough that they could win against a few of the other schools. But then they were put up against the previous year's team that went to nationals. Most of its members were taller than even their tallest member. So it came to no surprise that Sawamura and his team ended up being a little bit intimidated standing in front of those giants. This fact became apparent when the other team scored seven runs off of them in the first inning and their first three batters got struck out. Their coach saw this and told them they were being pathetic. "I don't know who this team is anymore! You're all acting like strangers! And here I thought you lot wanted to be strong warriors. A warrior rises above others and stands strong in the midst of a storm. Puh… my mistake!" The team was outraged enough that they got over their fear and channeled their aggression into the game. They still lost, but the opposing team only managed to get two more runs off of them. That game though, ended up symbolizing the start of when their true abilities started to emerge. Their specialty with becoming stronger the more pressure they were under. And their coach used that to his advantage.

It was thinking about those words that always seemed to give Sawamura an extra boost of courage. So when he stepped out the changing room sporting his complete uniform, the air surrounding him crackled in response the air of certainty he gave off in that moment.

"Akagi? Never heard of it."

"Hey, wasn't it that junior high team that went to Nationals?"

"Really? That guy?! I thought he was just all talk."

"He's wearing the ace number…"

"There's no way he can beat Azuma though, he's still just a junior high student after all."

{}

Elsewhere, Miyuki Kazuya was finishing up securing his padding when Rei walked up to him. "Miyuki-kun, I'm glad you volunteered for this. I want you to watch his pitches for me from a catcher's perspective. I think there's something more to them."

"Eh?"

Rei looked towards the junior high student who was doing his own routine stretches. Miyuki followed her gaze. "I only got to see him once in the prelims, but I'm pretty sure I didn't see his full potential even there. The level of skill he showed in the game I saw wouldn't have been enough for him to last as long as he did in nationals. Do you think you can get him to show us what he showed there?"

"Nationals?…Rei-chan, who is this guy?"

"His name is Sawamura Eijun."

{}

"Hey brat! I'll let you off the hook if you grovel right now!"

Sawamura didn't even pause in his stretches. He wasn't in the mood to argue with this guy anymore.

"Hey, are you listening to me?! Once you step on that mound, they'll be nowhere to run!"

Once finished with his stretches he began walking away. "Like I'd ever run." He growled out. He could see Takashima Rei standing next to another player who looked like a catcher. He made his way over towards them.

Rei was talking with the other player about a person named Kataoka and when he might be back when he walked up to them.

"Ah, Sawamura. This is Miyuki Kazuya, he's a catcher and will be helping you against Azuma-kun." She introduced.

"Sawamura Eijun, it's very nice to meet you! I will be in your care!"

The catcher snickered. "Wow, I didn't pin you as the respectful type! I guess you're not as bullheaded as I thought!"

"Wha-! I'm not bullheaded!"

"It sure didn't look that way when you were challenging Azuma like that." Miyuki laughed out.

"But I'm not!"

"Haha! Sure, sure. Anyway, how does a ten minute warm up sound to you?"

"Humph. Whatever." Sawamura muttered pouting to himself.

They set up in the bullpen and Miyuki threw him the ball. He caught it with a loud 'pat' and twitched at sharp pain he wasn't expecting. It was a much harder and held more of a punch when catching compared to the soft ball.

"What? Is this your first time with the hard ball?"

Sawamura palmed the smooth surface. It was also heavier than the soft ball. 'So this is the kind of baseball high school uses… It fits my hand nicely.' He started interchanging between his different grips to get used to it before tossing it back. "Hey! Mr. Catcher, you have some kind of strategy to take out this batter? I'm not planning on getting hit off him."

"Ohh. Are you trying to learn all his dirty secretes so you can take the easy way out?" Miyuki smirked.

"Huh?! What are you talking about?! It's only natural for the pitcher and cater to get the batter out!"

"Hehe! That's true! Don't worry, I'll help you take out this monster. I know all his little quirks, so it'll be easy."

They threw a few more until ten minutes passed and they made their way towards the mound.

"So then, what kind of pitches do you throw?"

"A four-seamer, two-seamer and the change-up.

"Ho-ho, that's a good set up. Very basic, but effective. Anything else?" 'Maybe he would be stupid enough and tell me whatever skill it is Rei-chan thinks he has.' He thought hopefully.

"Nope!"

It was worth a shot. "Alright then, just tell me the signs your catcher used. I'll use those."

"It was this, for two-seamer. This for four. Then this for changeup and then these for the variations."

"Ok. I got- wait. Variations?"

The pitcher started getting flustered waved his arms around. "W-well, it's kinda like… it make a 'fwush' sound. But the other one… goes like- well it's more like… it ends up-" Miyuki's hand covered his mouth.

"Never mind about that then. We'll just stick with the three." And then he jogged his way to home plate and situated himself into position. But when he looked back at the young pitcher he sweat dropped. 'Shit… it looks like all that confidence he had before is gone. He gonna be all stiff… Now I'm really curious about those 'variations' he was talking about before. Wish I could ask for it, but I got no clue what to expect.'

On the mound, Sawamura was panicking. It wasn't fair! Why did trying to explain the variations always make him trip over his tongue?! –It's because back in freshman year when they had discovered his wider range of motion, the coach had went on to explaining to Sawamura the potential it had and how it worked in _great_ detail. To the point of which it had his head spinning. His friends had to give him the dumbed down version. But because Sawamura admired the coach so much, whenever he was asked about it, he would always try to explain it the way his coach had- Kicking the ground in his frustration, he wished he was pitching to Nobu, he wouldn't have to worry about this kind of stuff then.

"He thinks he can take me out with that pitching? Mr. Big mouth here must be delusional!" Readying himself in the batter's box, Azuma did one final stretch. "I'll nock it out of the park!"

"He's still a junior high student. Why not go a little easy on him?" Miyuki asked sarcastically sweet.

"In your dreams! I always swing with everything I have! What grade he's in doesn't mean a thing to me! I'll take him out no matter what!"

"I really like that about you, Azuma-san." Miyuki replied with a wink.

When Sawamura saw the batter stepping up, he felt the familiar bubbling under his skin. Now this was familiar ground. 'There's no better place than the mound.' He spread his arms and took in deep breathes. When he opened his eyes again, gone was the hyper excitement and in its place was the look of a predatory wolf.

"You've got another thing coming if you think you can scare me, brat!" Azuma shouted, unfazed.

Miyuki considered his options. 'The stiffness from earlier is suddenly gone… or is it just a fluke?' He signaled and raised his glove. 'Well, we'll see if it's just a façade.'

'Four-seamer, on the outside, barely in. It's the first pitch, so Nobu would usually have me throw it at variation 2.' He nodded and raised his leg halfway to his chest.

The straight ball came flying towards him and he caught it. "That was in wasn't it?" Miyuki said with a smirk.

Azuma jerked.

"All right! Batter could even move!"

"Are you stupid?! I just wanted to see if he could even throw to the plate!"

Miyuki smiled, he knew how Azuma tended to watch the first pitch against an unfamiliar pitcher unless the coach told him otherwise. Tossing the ball back to Sawamura he settled back down into position. 'He's got good aim. Now, let's see if he's got any guts to go with it.'

"Hmm?" Sawamura blinked. 'A two seamer there? Well he did say he knew the batter's style pretty well. I think it would be a variation 3 here.'

'No hesitation, nice.'

The ball came towards them. Azuma grit his teeth, 'you think you can get by with the same pitch?!' and swung. The ball flew up high, but it fouled by a large margin. Azuma 'tisked' in agitation.

Sawamura shivered. 'Uwaaa! That one went really far!'

Miyuki sat there for a bit thinking about the last pitch. It had a lot of movement for just a two-seamer. That was a good quality in a pitcher. But there had also been something different about it from the first pitch. 'Should I be worried, or is he just settling into his groove?' He readjusted himself. 'Well it's only been two pitches.' He set up for the next pitch. 'Let's get him riled up even more. He already underestimates him, so he'll probably even swing at balls.'

So that's what they did and Azuma swung at every pitch. All five balls flying far into the foul zone. Sneaking a glance upwards, Miyuki watched Azuma growl. 'Just a bit more then.' He looked towards the pitcher. 'But this guy…'

 _"I think there's something more to his pitches."_

'Not only was his form getting smoother but his two-seamers were gradually gaining even more movement at the plate. Is this what she meant when she said that?' He didn't think he'd ever seen a two-seamer that had that much movement before. 'At this rate, we can strike him out with just these two pitches. But I also really want to see his change-up.' He threw the ball back to young pitcher and hit his fist into the mitt. 'Then there's also the thing going on with the way he's releasing. If I'm not mistaken, he's swung his arm down in two different ways. Was it that 'variations' thing he was talking about before? You're just full of surprises aren't you?' Miyuki's shoulder's shook in his barely contained laughter making a tick mark appear on Auzma's face. 'Oh! Looks like its time then!' He thought cheerfully.

Sawamura caught the returning ball in a daze. What was happening with him? He could see the batter and catcher crystal clear. But was it just him, or was everything else losing its color around him? 'I've felt something like this before…' But where? It was recent wasn't it? This feeling of facing off against such an overwhelming opponent in battle. It was… in Yokahama during Koshien, wasn't it? He'd felt it only a couple times there. But the power they had emitted then was being emitted by the very guy now standing before him. 'Are all of Seido's players like this? Do they get to feel this kind of intensity every day?!' It would be too good to be true. But at the same time, the way he saw these guys practice earlier was no joke. Sure, he and his friends had taken their own training seriously, but these guys… they took it a whole step further. When he focused back on the batter, he could see it in the other's eyes that this next pitch was going to be the deciding pitch. That crushing pressure coming off the guy was bringing the boiling under Sawamura's skin closer to the surface. 'This is it!' He read Miyuki's sign and it caused a feral grin stretch across his face. 'Mr. Catcher knows it too!' Adjusting his grip and winding up his pitch, he felt his raging spirit condense into his chest. Hyperaware of it as it traveled through his arm as he threw down and leaving his body into the ball as soon as it left his fingers.

It was almost like the ball was roaring, and yet at the back of his mind, Azuma knew the ball was going the same speed as the other balls.

He swung.

WHAM!

Smoke rose from Miyuki's mitt his eyes wide and an ecstatic smile on his face. "Nice pitch!"

Sawamura roared.

* * *

 **I need your guys' opinions. Should Sawamura start out in first string with Furuya right off the bat, or should I send him to second string? I don't think he would be there as long as Canon. There is potential for him to grow in both situations.**

 **The only thing I ever planned out for this story was Sawamura's skill set and how it was going to be evolving throughout the story. The rest of the plot is just going to be writing itself. This is the first time I've ever done that for a story. I'm so used to having a better grasp at what the next 3 or more chapters are going to be about. Here it's the opposite, I'm excited to see what sort of cyclones these little ripples will make.**

 **Thankyou so much for your reviews! Whenever I was stuck I would just go back to read them and it was enough to motivate me again. Please continue to let me know what you think of this story. They are encouragements to the parts that are more difficult to write.**

 **A/N: I know in Canon Sawamura couldn't get into the same high school as everyone else cuz he slapped a lot of people and couldn't get a referral. I couldn't find a way to fit it into the story, so I just made is so the only way to get in was with decent grades.**


	3. The Decisions You Make

**The Decisions YouMake**

"talking"

'thinking'

* * *

It felt like an eternity before Miyuki could will himself to look away from the ball resting, almost mockingly, in his mitt. To think that this little ball played a part in such an overwhelming pitch. It was like something that had come from a wild creature. That changeup was a beast. It started off like a normal fast ball but then it would begin to shift just before the plate and then drop suddenly when it gets just above it. He had been noticing how Sawamura's speed had gradually been increasing. But in this last pitch, it had increased so suddenly. So becaus it was the changeup, which should have been slower than the fastball, it came out at the speed he had been throwing his two-seamers up till now. The kid had thrown his hardest on that pitch that much was obvious.

There was definitely room for improvement in his aim and form. The way he lifted his leg up was noticeably higher than all the other times, but no less balanced. He hoped that wasn't a quirk for his change-up, everyone would know it was coming then.

'Two-seamer, four-seamer and a changeup. I call it a basic set up, but catching for this guy makes me feel like I'm still missing something about his pitching. And I really want to know what it is. Just facing off one batter isn't enough to get him to show me everything.

"Gggrrwwaaaaahhhhhh! Come at me! I'll take you all on!" Sawamura yelled.

Miyuki sweat dropped. 'Wow… I get how you feel, but learn to show some restraint will ya.' He wanted to keep going too. But why did this guy have to be so abrasive and uncivilized about it.

A shadow loomed over home plate and a firm voice came from the batter's box, "I am ready to take you on." Yuuki Tetsuya, another key batter of Seido's first string, stared out towards the pitcher with a stern face and his bat resting on his shoulder. "Please give me your best pitch."

'My-oh-my, look what you've done now. You've gone and made Tetsu-san all riled up now. And by the looks of those guys standing over there, they're gonna want in on the action too. This looks like more fun, but it's not my call to make.' He looked over towards Rei. She made a couple hand signals.

'Just three pitches? Really?' He looked towards the young pitcher who was beating his glove with his fist and wearing a manic grin. 'I don't think that'll be enough to satisfy this guy...'

Sawamura was on the verge of laughing hysterically. He could hear the blood pumping in his ears. He was sweating under his uniform, but he didn't feel the slightest bit tired. It was like his body was numb and yet he could feel everything. The sweat on the side of his face, the twitching muscles in his thighs, the slightest breeze against his fingertips.

He didn't know when that Azuma guy had left, but it didn't mattered. There was someone else there now and he was bringing in just as much intensity. A concentrated heat, like burning coals that would explode into flames as soon as you touched.

Miyuki chuckled and threw the ball back when he saw Sawamura's and Tetsuya's identical expressions. They just screamed, 'hurry up! I want to throw/hit it!' They were both so impatient. 'Let's see,' Miyuki thought to himself. 'Tetsu-san looks like he's come in battle ready. So going all out in the beginning would be best. Three pitches, gotta make each one count. Away, high two-seamer.'

Sawamura began his windup immediately releasing at variation 3, full power. The ball came in directly where he wanted it, shifting just before the plate and then bending downward at an angle. It seemed to almost be dodging the bat as it came swinging around. He smirked, he was having too much fun with this.

The next call was for a low, inside four-seamer. 'Shit it can't think straight. Has it been 10 pitches yet? Norio always says I have to wait until after I pitch at least 10 times. But I really wanna throw that _now_.' He raised his leg. 'Ah, what's it matter? I'mma throw it anyway.' He thought with a cat-like smirk. 'Feel the wrath of variation 1!'

BAM!

"…" Miyuki's eyes widened. 'That… came down at a completely different angle! Don't tell me, this kid has that wide of a range of motion? Is he able to control it?' That totaled 3 different throwing angles, and if this brat could control it, it was exciting to think of its applicable values. 'Should I call for a time-out? Rei-chan's only gonna let him throw one more ball.'

Sawamura was in trouble. He had forgotten about his intention to remain uninterested with this stuck-up Seido team. But he was having fun with this scrimmage. Maybe even too much fun. He was too far gone to even have an inkling as to what had made him so upset earlier. The only thing that was registering was the fact that there was still a powerful opponent in front of him. The sound of the catcher's mitt making contact with the ball that used to be so clear and crisp, a sound that would resonate with him, was only coming through as a muffled echo.

'More… I want to pitch even more! I want to battle guys like these forever!'

Miyuki considered what this last throw should be. Tetsuya was an intense batter. He wouldn't even consider using mind tricks on him like he had done with Azuma. The second year was too disciplined for that. The only way to get by him was through solid skill. 'In most cases I would put a changeup here, but I know he would be expecting that. He's really focused right now and there's a chance he might hit it no matter where we put it.' He threw the ball back and was about to make a sign but the pitcher was already winding up. 'What are you doing you idiot?! Wait for my sign!'

But it was too late and the ball came blasting towards them. It was coming in high, slower than his fastballs. It was the changeup and it dropped just before the plate and into the middle of the strike zone.

CLANG!

The sound pierced through Sawamura's fogged mind and washed over him like water poured on hot iron. He watched the ball sore through the air mouth agape.

It was a home run.

Miyuki was silent from where he was situated.

Sawamura wailed in disappointment. 'How could I have made such a rookie mistake?! I'm a disgrace to the ace number!' With a feline glare he zeroed in on the batter pointing his glove at him. "I demand a rematch!" The batter just nodded, a glint in his eyes, and got into his ready position wordlessly.

"Hold up you guys." Miyuki interrupted. "We actually need to stop now."

Sawamura gasped in disbelief. "What blasphemy are you spouting Mr. Catcher?! I'm nowhere near finished here!" He yelled and Tetsuya nodded in agreement. "I have no intention of leaving this mound before I defeat everyone here so that I may return with honor!"

'What do you think you're doing here? Invading us or something?' He was half expecting him to start shouting about being brought here by the god of wind.

Rei Takashima walked up behind Sawamura and cleared her throat. "Sawamura-kun, it actually is time that you head back now."

Sawamura turned around startled. He had forgotten she was still there. "W-Wait, what?! But I barely just got here!"

Rei smiled triumphantly at how frustrated Sawamura was. "It would be for the best to get you home before dark don't you think? And I'm sure you're tiered of having to stay here surrounded by a bunch of stuck-up elites." She said passively.

The pitcher jerked back and sweated at being caught contradicting his earlier claims. He remembered how he had justified his coming here by making it out to be an opportunity to secretly scout out his team's future enemies.

See?! He could be smart too damnit!

He wasn't feeling so smart right now though. At what point had he lost sight of himself? He was supposed to be dedicated to his own team and here he was having fun playing baseball without them. It made him feel nauseated. Like he was betraying them.

With a heavy weight turning uncomfortably in his stomach he walked off the mound. 'Don't look back. Don't you dare look back! Remember the promise you made. Remember your friends. They're waiting back home for you. We're all gonna go to the same school and play baseball together!'

A silently steaming Sawamura made his way off the field to get changed. Rei turned towards the approaching Miyuki. She wanted to hear his take on everything. "So?" She probed.

"I think I've read an article about him somewhere." He started. "Akagi was the underdogs of Junior High's Nationals. It didn't say much about him specifically, just that he was the captain. It had a picture of the whole team, there really was just nine of them."

"Yes, it really is suprissing they made it as far as they did. And what did you make of his pitches?"

Miyuki smirked. "He has good power and his control's ok, but it could definitely improve. He has a changeup."

"I saw that. It have a very sharp drop. And what about those other pitches? What other kind of breaking pitches was he using?"

Miyuki smirked. "His only breaking pitch is the changeup apparently."

Rei blinked. "Really?"

"Yeah, that two-seamer of his has some crazy movements to them. I'm not surprised you thought of them as breaking balls. I almost couldn't catch it the first time. He must give his catcher a hard time with them." He tossed the baseball up and down. "That in itself was probably enough to take his team to finals if used right. I wouldn't be surprised if that was all he had too. He's still a junior high schooler after all. But you were right about there being something more to his pithes. He has at least two different release angles and also a third, if that earlier pitch wasn't a fluke."

"So I was right about his throwing technique."

Miyuki nodded. "He's an interesting guy, I can see why you brought him."

"Indeed."

He turned away. He could see Tetsuya off to the side swinging his bat invigoratingly and it was obvious why. It made him chuckle. He paused and turned back towards the assistant coach who had started walking away. "There is just one thing I was wondering, if you could enlighten me on Rei-chan." When she stopped he continued. "Why didn't you let us pitch a little longer? We could've gone a few more rounds and he still would have been fine, time wise."

"Well it's like you said, he's still a junior." She turned her head, a lovely smile on her face. "It wouldn't be fair to let him practice with him too much when he's not even a part of the team."

"You just wanted to give him a taste, but not enough to fill..." He smirked. "Wow, Rei-chan. That's almost cruel." He had forgotten how manipulative this woman could be.

{Train Station}

"Thank you for coming out today. You really helped Azuma-kun gain some good experience. I thought he could use a bit of humility before he went pro." Rai said.

Sawamura stared down in dejected frustration, his eyebrows furrowed slightly.

Rei smiled. "If you continue playing in Nagano, I'm sure you'll have an easier time making it to Koshien. It's not like here. The Tokyo area has a lot of veterans all packed in together, so there's a lot more competition around here. However, if you're willing to take up the challenge and want to play for our school, then please give me a call."

Sawamura nodded his head curtly, still refusing to look the woman in the eye. He stepped on the train and took a window seat. As the train started moving he leaned forward in his seat, his hands clasped together.

How could he? Him! The person that had gotten them all sucked into this sport in the first place! He dares to even think about wanting to go there?! He would be abandoning them like an old pair of shoes.

What kind of friend would do that?

How is it that he was able to practically forget all about his soul reason in coming to this stupid place?! It's pathetic how easily he got swept up in everything. Did he have no sense of will power?!

His frown deepened. He could see the tips of his fingers turning purple but the pain wasn't registering. It was forceful effort on his part to separate his hands. His teammates would yell at him if he hurt himself in any way.

That brought on another wave of guilt and he gripped the edges of the seat cushion instead.

Variations of guilt, sorrow, agony, and strife jumbled about his head. And yet despite how bad he felt, he could still clearly perceive the residual sensations of absolute euphoria and clarity from when he had stood on that mound.

And that just made him feel even worse.

{}

By the time he had gotten home, his mind had gotten so muddled that it had became static.

His mother was worried when he came back and was barely able to mutter out a greeting before making his way upstairs to his bedroom.

Supper wasn't that much better. Miss Sawamura had made her son's favorite dish in attempts to cheering him up thinking he might have had a bad experience in Tokyo. But there was a, 'Mentally incapacitated!' written clear across his face. The fact he was holding his chopsticks backwards was also a blatant sign that Eijun was not all there and a slap via Grandfather seemed to have no effect.

With half a mind, Sawamura had read the word 'Baseball' on a magazine laying on the counter and brought it with him upstairs. He was sitting on his bed and was haphazardly looking through the articles when the picture of a familiar face made him pause in his movements.

THIS MONTH'S PICK-UP ROOKIE

MIYUKI KAZUYA [16] FIRST-YEAR CATCHER

WILL HE BECOME THE SAVIOR OF THE FAMOUS SEIDOU?

'So he's one of those amazing guys? He's already got himself in the papers.' Sawamura thought lazily. He remembered those gutsy plays that catcher had called for. Norio wouldn't have ever done something like that. 'That's because Norio is the best!' He nodded to himself, his mood lifting just slightly.

But could Norio have made those kinds of calls? The kind that elicited Sawamura to, figuratively, sit at the edge of his seat throughout almost the entire scrimmage? He'd never felt that kind of intensity outside of Nationals before. He didn't know it was even possible until today. 'If I played baseball there, would it be like that every day?' It was an outrageously seducing notion to Sawamura.

But then his depression came crashing back down on him at his betraying thoughts and he tossed the magazine aside.

He collapsed on his bed, covering his eyes with his arm. "How could… what am I thinking? Leaving them… for Tokyo?" He said through gritted teeth. 'How could I possibly betray them?'

Tossing to the side his eyes wandered to the pictures taped above his bed frame. They were a bunch of snapshots of his friends together either practicing or just hanging out together. They all looks so happy.

"I can't." He sighed.

'I wish I could just forget about that stupid place.'

{School Monday Morning}

Sawamura yawned loudly, tears forming in the corner of his eyes. He was exhausted. 'Man, I couldn't sleep at all.' He thought irritably. It turns out forgetting about that school was not as easy as forgetting the names of major military leaders in World War II.

Man he was exhausted. He was sure there were visible bags under his eyes.

When he walked into his class dragging his feet, his friends all rushed up to him as a pack, excited smiles while shouting out their congratulations.

"Eh?" Sawamura stopped confused.

"You got scouted by Seidou right?"

"It's amazing!"

"Haha! Your Granfather came to my house yesterday and told us!"

"He came to mine to!"

"And mine!"

'Eitoku!' Sawamura mentally shouted out his grandfather's demise in flushed anger. 'He just loves to brag when it's not about him!' He steamed.

Looking his friends straight in the eyes, he told them how he never said he was going to go to Seido. "There's no reason to! That's all the way in Tokyo! Why would I go all the way there just for baseball!"

"But it's _that_ Seido!"

"Yeah! They must know how good you are!"

"B-But…!"

"It's a once in a life-time opportunity!"

"We know you can definitely do it!"

"Th-That's… that's not the point!... I'm…"

"Hey, you know." Wakana spoke up. "You really don't have much of a choice in the matter if you stop and actually think about it for once." She stated matter of factly. Forever the voice of reason in Sawamura's life.

"Shut up! I can still make the entrance exams if I study hard enough now!" He cried out determined.

"You shouldn't worry about it." She answered calmly.

"Wa-?!"

"Besides, we know you want to go to Tokyo anyway." She smiled at Sawamura's dumb-struck look. "That's what your grandfather told us. He said you've been acting strange ever since you got back. You were moved by the baseball you saw them play in Tokyo weren't you?"

Sawamura didn't have to answer for them to know the answer to that. Wakana could see it and so could everybody else. Just by his reaction alone, it was enough to prove how much his experience alone had affected their friend. They had known Eijun since they were little after all. They wouldn't be surprised if Sawamura hadn't realized it for himself how much he wanted to go there.

"We know it's your weakness Ei-chan!"

"You're really easy to read even though you're a pitcher!"

"You shouldn't worry about it! We'll all come cheering for you no matter where you go!"

Sawamura felt cold. Like this was all just some wacked up dream. The pain from his nails digging into his palms told him otherwise. He couldn't look up at his friends who continued to encourage him. Telling him he could do it. 'You're wrong…' It was all just a huge misunderstanding. 'You guys aren't making any sense…' There was no way he could ever want to play anywhere else. 'Without you guys…' It would be like a piece of him was missing. It wouldn't feel right! 'Baseball wouldn't be…'

Baseball…

'…'

{At Dinner That Evening}

Eijun couldn't remember anything that happened after that conversation he had with his friends. The rest of the day went by with a blur. Usually he would be praising the heavens because the school clock always seemed to have molasses stuck in its gears. But today, he hadn't looked at it once the entire day. He was too busy thinking about how cowardly he was being.

It was supposed to be an easy choice. There was no way he would choose some elite school over his friends.

There was no excuse to how he had lost it that day. How he couldn't reign in his excitement over, what was supposed to be, a simple game. It was because of that that he was feeling this way now. If he had more self-control, then he could have put Seido behind him a long time ago and Grandpa might not have told his friends about it. Then he wouldn't be having these conflicting thoughts messing with his daily functions.

"Grandpa, you told everyone about that scout showing up." He said, not noticing how his grandfather was posed to deliver a Sawamura's special slap.

"Oh-ah… that was…uh…haha!"

Eijun stared at his food sitting in front of him, not really seeing it. "I…couldn't tell them." He smiled with no joy. "They were all so happy about it. But I… No matter how much I wanted to tell them, 'I want to stay here and play baseball with you guys.' In the end, I… I couldn't say anything. Why…?" He was so frustrated with that dumb school, with the situation, with _himself_. "Why am I such a coward?! I wanted to tell them! I wanted to tell them so much I was shaking. Tokyo seemed like a dream… It was over before I realized. There was something there that I didn't know existed! But… but they're my best friends! And I don't get it! They say I should go to Tokyo and they're happy about it!? I don't know what to do!" He was an eyesore, he felt pathet-

"Eijun!" SLAP

"Don't be so full of yourself!" His grandfather yelled.

Eijun sat stunned and agape as he stared up at the perpetrator for his raw cheek.

His grandfather continued to lecture. "Your friends are celebrating and your acting like this?! Did you think if you cried a little they would try and hold you back?! Is your friendship so brittle it will break with a little distance?!"

That last bit shook off the remaining bits of the earlier shock. A brittle friendship? In no way was their bond weak. They've been through thick and thin together. Some might even say they've already been through war together – it was only Sawamura that ever called baseball war – It was almost unimaginable to even think of the possibility that they might not still be friends when they grow up.

Eijun's father smiled into his cup. "Hey Eijun, is going to Tokyo alone really that scary?"

The son looked up in furious disbelief. And just like in his Sawamura blood, was riled up at the prospect of backing down. "W-what are you- I'm not..!" He couldn't quite find the words to properly express his justifiable incredulity.

"So then why not go?" The man said calmly. "You said it was like a dream didn't you? You already have your answer don't you? I can see why you may have gotten overwhelmed by them. Seido's not your normal high school. Everyone going there are likely to be the best of their junior high team. Going by yourself to a place like that filled with monsters, of course you'd scared. But if you give up now and try to hide those feelings, don't you think you'll just end up regretting it for the rest of your life?"

Throwing to that catcher with the interesting plays. Battling against two of some of the most intense batters he had ever faced before in his life. Relying on himself instead of Norio in how to use his variations. Feeling an excitement beyond comprehension and then leaving it at that spectacular screw up as a last pitch.

Could he really ignore all of that forever?

"If it doesn't work out, you can just come back home. And if that happens, nobody here would laugh at you."

The father-son moment ended when his mother commented, "Dear, that brings back memories of when you left for Tokyo. Did you know he wanted to become a musician? Him? Hehe!"

His grandfather chimed in with a belting laugh. "And he came right back home three months later! He was crying so hard saying 'Tokyo's so scary!' He was a sorry sight!"

"Shut up." His father exploded. "I've never regretted going! It's not like I'm washed up! I'm inheriting the farm aren't I?!"

"That hairdo says you haven't given up on it yet!" Sawamura Eitoku quiped.

"It's a policy!"

Sawamura paid no mind to his family as he sat there stewing over his father's earlier words. He wasn't being a true friend by being dishonest with them. His father was right. He couldn't ignore what was inside him.

He stood up suddenly, jarring the squabble into a stand-still. "I'm going out. I need to tell them." He said firmly. "I need to tell them my true feelings!" He made his way out of the dining room. "I'm leaving!"

"Wait! It's already late. Why not go tomorrow?"

Sawamura stopped at the entrance and turned back towards his family with a smile. A light sparkled in his eyes that they hadn't seen since he left for Tokyo. "It can't be tomorrow! I can't wait another second letting them all think I'm indecisive about it!" And he ran out the door leaving behind proud smiles and somber eyes that knew their home would be a little bit quieter without their Eijun.

{6 Months Later}

Sawamura hunched over in embarrassment within his pack of friends. Why did they have to bring up what happened almost half a year ago?! It was a Sawamura tradition to obtain the power behind a person's feelings through a slap to the face! And it wasn't like he came to their houses super late. They were still awake at the time.

By the time they made it to the train station everyone was laughing. He could see Rei Takashima waiting for him in front of the train station. He smiled in excitement. This was really happening wasn't it?

Final goodbyes to his friends and parents were said. His principal and Baseball supervisor were even there to see him off. The latter of the two who was crying a bit excessively for a grown man.

It was as he was giving a noogie to Akio that he heard a strangely familiar cough from behind him. When he looked towards his friends he saw them all looking behind him with mixed feelings of delight, shock and …dread?

He slowly turned around his suddenly stiff body to face the only person that could entice that kind of reaction. When he confirmed his suspicions, he dropped Akio, who face planted, and kneeled. "Mitsuhide-dono!" Sawamura seemed to hesitate for a moment before he continued. "I am about to go forth into battle… won't you please give me your blessing one last time?"

The rest of the team looked up at their coach with expectant hope filled gazes on their youthful faces. The sight would be overwhelmingly adorable for anyone half his age. It had no effect on Mitsuhide.

With a sigh, Mitsuhide started digging into his pockets. It took him a bit but he finally pulled out what looked to be a wrinkled napkin with a blueberry stain on it. Then he proceeded to read off it like a fourth-grader. "Be like the flower, where no matter how far you are bloated away… wait. Blown away from where you bloomed, you still… joke-strove… you still _grow_ to be a cherry blossom. Be like the quest–can't read this stupid handwriting! Ahem! Be like the peach that you fall when you are ready and do not to rush." Then he crumpled it up and tossed it towards the trashcan. "There, happy?"

Sawamura dove for the curmpled cloth and saved it just before it made it into the bin. "Mitsuhide-dono's sacred last words!" He placed it against his chest and looked up at his revered teacher. "I will live by this code you have bestowed upon me until my dying breath!" He said with steam coming out of his nose.

The old coach shrugged his shoulders and crossed his arms. "Do whatever with it. I only came because Matchiko-chan wanted to see you off."

A small old woman wearing a simple blue kimono with her hair up in a bun walked up to Sawamura and pinched both his cheeks.

"Mweesubede-obwasama!"

She released her grip and patted his reddened cheeks affectionately. "You'll be just fine now won't you Eijun-kun?"

Sawamura nodded vigorously and bowed towards the older woman. "Thank you for seeing me off!"

The train pulled in and the buzzer for the two minute warning went off.

"Here this is from us." Ichiro said taking out a baseball cap.

"Thanks!" He adjusted the strap of his bag and walked through the train's open doors.

"Good luck Ei-chan!"

"Ei-chan!"

Sawamura turned half around and smiled. "I'll work really ha-" He froze when he saw the tear droplets gathering in the corners of some of his friends eyes. 'They're crying? They all looked so happy a second ago.' Not to say they still weren't smiling but sniffling and water works made it less cheery.

"Idiots, why are you crying?!" Someone yelled at them. Norio and several others who were crying started laughing half-heartedly as though to scare the tears away.

Matsui patted Norio's back. "If you cry, it'll be harder for Ei-chan!"

"S-Sorry." Norio sniffed. "It's just… I know I'm not the best of catchers… It took so long just to be able to catch your balls. And even then, it sometimes felt like… I was holding you back."

"Norio…" he said in shock.

"Haha! If we're talking about that kind of stuff, remember last year? I can't count how many times I let the ball passed me!"

"Ha! That's right! And even Akio here still couldn't hit the curve balls even though coach found a way to have us practice for them!" Everyone laughed.

His catcher looked down with a distant expression. "Ei-chan was always there for us. We lost so many games in the beginning… but Ei never gave up and even cheered up the upperclassmen." Norio scrubbed his eyes and smiled blindingly at Eijun. "And when we got better… we thought the pressure was going to crush us. But you… you made use stronger. You made us believe we could do what everyone called impossible, no matter the situation. You always looked so cool when you did that, even more than Ichiro or Matsui or anyone… you were… our hero!"

Sawamura smiled, his face was warm and he knew he was blushing. His friends could be so embarrassing sometimes. But right then, at that moment. Sawamura didn't care, because they were his precious friends and hearing those words from him made him feel ten times lighter.

Gosh he was going to miss them.

The final warning chime for the doors to close went off as Norio continued. "We know you'll go even further there then you ever could here. But… to be honest…" The catcher choked on his last words and the doors began to slide shut. "We all wanted to play baseball with you more Ei-chan!"

shhhCLICK.

'…what?'

The train started moving.

'H-hold on a minute…' His hands came up to the window pane.

His friends started following after the train shouting at him to do his best.

'You can't… have you been thinking that…' Sawamura curled his fingers into fists. It felt like his heart had dropped into his stomach and he was suffocating on air.

They were running and chasing after him with their arms waving in the air like little children.

Sawamura leaned heavily on the doors. 'Are you kidding me?!' His fingers curled inward. 'Idiots! You never said anything about this these six months! Why?!" He saw droplets falling below him. When had he started crying? No. More importantly, why hadn't they ever said anything? Were they bottling up their own feelings this whole time. Why didn't they tell him sooner? He would have definitely stayed then damn it! 'It's too late you idiots!' He was on the verge of collapsing onto his knees. 'It's too late…'

He felt Takashima Rei's eyes on him. "This is… that determination you talked about… isn't it?" His throat felt as though he had been screaming for hours. "This isn't about me anymore… I'm going there for them... I have to… I definitely have to go to Koshien as their representative…"

Rei smiled to herself from her seat. She could see that Sawamura already had the heart of an ace. And she hoped by him coming to Seido, he might be their catalyst for a transformation in their team.

* * *

 **So far the responses I got for whether or not Sawamura should go to first string right away or not was...**

 **2 – jumps to first string**

 **0 – starts in second string.**

 **1 – either/or**

 **If there are any other people who would like to comment, please do so. I havn't written anything past this. So I don't even know if I will get to that point where the team members have a chance to be put in first string in the next chapter.**

 **Than you so much for all of your guys' support. It means so much to me! Please let me know how you think of this chapter, follow, review, all that good stuff.**

 **A/N: Miyuki was referring to the kamikaze pilots – a highly looked upon symbol of Japanese character in its highest expression because they died with the deepest feeling of loving their country, nature and its people. Kamikaze Pilots were never thought of as suicide pilots. (Read about this from a very interesting article about Japan's view of kamikaze pilots)**

 **Dianne060807/narutolover0105/alisha.1246 – I'm glad you guys like it so far!**

 **AspergianStoryteller – thank you for the heads up. I got it fixed.**

 **Bibliophile Otaku – OHHH! I like those ideas! They are very inspiring and I might even use some of them! I also loved trajectory of laughter. Its context was spectacular, but I hated the ending. I wanted him to go to nationals gosh darn it!**


	4. First Impressions

**First Impressions**

"Talking"

'Thoughts'

[Written words]

* * *

{Seido Dorm room 5}

Second-year Kuramochi Youichi sat at his desk grinning darkly as he held up a hand mirror. Finally! The time had come. He wasn't going to be the one at the mercy of this prank because this time, he would be the one scaring the newbie. A nightmarish cackling bubbled out of his chest as he applied the finishing touches to his face. A little more blood here, have it drizzle below the eye a bit more over there…

Third-year Masuko Tooru sweat dropped as he watched his underclassman make obnoxious faces at his reflection. He hadn't put any makeup on his own face since he had played this prank on Kuramochi last year and didn't feel like doing it again this year. So he let his friend have the fun all to himself. Taking a looked at the clock he quickly wrote out a note for his roommate to read. [He should be here soon]

Kuramochi waved his hand dismissively. "Yeah, yeah. I got it. I'm almost done… Here. Tell me how this looks." He picked up his flashlight and held it under his chin, he rolled his eyes to the back of his head and opened his mouth halfway. The light adding to the pasty white cream he had applied and making him look sickly. The 'blood' was dripping from his forehead, eyes and mouth. He looked like a walking corpse.

[Poor first-year]

"Kyaha! I know right?! Ok hurry up and turn off the lights, I think I hear someone outside." Flashlight in hand, Kuramochi stood directly in front of the door at the ready. The lights were turned off just as he heard the doorknob jiggle.

The door was opened and there was a moment were the tenth grader seemed to have a delayed reaction. But then Kuromochi shifted his dead eyes down at the kid and flashing an ugly grin. The boy was suddenly screaming bloody murder and falling to the ground in terror.

"A GHOST!" He screamed scrambling backwards.

The light was turned on, and Kuromochi leaned out the door as he wiped his face with a towel. "Shahaha! That worked great! I got you didn't I? I was in your shoes last year when they did that to me, I was so scared I couldn't get up!" With a wink, he held out a hand to the dumbfounded kid. "Welcome to the Seido High School Baseball Team."

It was easy to tell that the newbie was still slowly processing that he had just been duked by a practical joke. When the boy was pulled back to his feet, they began introductions. "I'm Kuramochi, eleventh-grade." He waved a hand to the larger one standing behind him. "This guy's Masuko-san, twelfth-grade."

[Nice to meet you]

Kuramochi made his way back into the room and started shuffling through the box of play station games they had.

The kid stood perplexed unsure of how to respond. "N-Nice to…"

"Don't worry about him. He made an error yesterday, so he's not letting himself talk. You follow?" He laughed. 'And Masuko's just the tip of the ice-burg of the crazy people on this team. Now let's see… Everyone's GOLF should be good.' He turned presenting the gaming console just as the newbie stepped into the room. "So how does a golf tournament to break the ice sound to you?!" He said enthusiastically.

"Eh?"

"You've payed video games before right?"

"Y-yeah, but-"

"Great! I'm playing for real then!" Kuramochi and Masuko were already comfortably sitting in front of the TV before the tenth-grader could get another word in. "Hurry up and come in already. We've got practice early tomorrow."

[Bring it on!]

They started an epic battle of golf. Kuramochi looked at their new roommate from the corner of his eye. 'So Sawamura is _that_ guy. The one that struck out Azuma-san.' He watched as the younger boy yelled at the TV for making his golf ball land in a lake and had his tongue sticking out in concentration. 'That guy looks so innocent, he's gonna get eaten alive here.' Kuramochi turned away from the newcomer so they couldn't see his devious grin. "If you lose, you'll be our slave for a year." No mercy for the green-horn.

"Huh?! I thought I heard something really creepy just then…"

"Kyaha! It's just your imagination! We'll be the best of buds come tomorrow! Now let me show you how us pro's golf!"

{Seido Dorm Room 5, the Next Morning}

The morning light peaked through the window right into Sawamura's eyes. He stirred a bit, annoyed at his slumber being disturbed.

The peaceful quiet of the room was demolished when its only occupant shot up with a panicked cry.

"UWAA! I overslept!" He struggled to take of his pajama shirt and pants off at the same time. "I'm gonna be late on my first day!" His arms got tangled in his new baseball uniform. "Why is this happening to me?! Those guys should have woken me up! This is their fault for making me stay up so late!" He was hopping out the door as he tied up his other shoe. The shouting from the fields was audible from the dorms. 'And they already started, maybe I can sneak in without anyone noticing.' His hope rising.

And falling again when he peaked around a shed and saw that everyone was out in the middle of the field lined up for formal introductions. Tears streamed down as he mewled and crouched down holding his head between his legs. 'Noo! It's impossible to get in now! If this coach is anything like Mitsuhide-dono they'll have eyes like a hawk. I'd be spotted instantly! I'll be lucky if I get by with flamingo sprinting for a week as punishment! Wait, it's the first day… AHHH! This is even worse then!'

Sawamura paused in his anguish. There was a muttered voice creeping up behind him. "Ugh, right from the start too… it's all because I watched too many videos yesterday." They said with a perverted giggle.

The pitcher turned just as someone bumped into his back.

"Ow-"

Brown eyes started into similarly brown eyes.

"Eh…"

Ah…" Miyuki Kazuya stared surprised. 'Wait, isn't this that kid from before?' He had wondered if the other would join or not.

"…Oh! You're that guy… what was your name again?" Sawamura asked blinking.

'Do I really leave that little of an impression?' Miyuki sighed. "It's Miyuki Kazuya."

"Right. Right, it was Miyuki. So, how about you catch for me again?" He asked openly cheerful.

"What the… Did you seriously just forget the situation you're in?" Miyuki deadpanned.

"AH! THAT'S RIGHT HOW AM I SU-!-" His mouth was smothered by a hand.

"Shhhh! Do you want to get us caught you idiot?!" Miyuki whispered harshly.

"O-Oh… sorry."

Miyuki sighed and then put on a contemplative look. "Besides, why would I want to catch for someone like you? A person that likes to ignore a catcher's calls." He said snootishly, smirking at the end.

"What am I gonna do?! This is not how- Wait what are to talking… Oh."

He was talking about back then, wasn't he? That moment that seemed to elude his memories like a school girl with her crush.

In one moment he had just thrown his variation 1 into Miyuki's mitt and in the next… what? He could recall a vague sense of the ball brushing the tips of his fingers. Then he had heard that unmistakable sound of a ball to bat contact. And suddenly all of the sensations had come rushing back as he came to himself. It was like the memories of the times between there and then were coated with ink. What had he even thrown?

"That…"

"Yeah, _that_. You know, it's the one universal pet-peeve of all catchers. When a pitcher completely ignores them as if they're throwing to a brick wall."

Sawamura gulped. He couldn't see Miyuki's eyes with his glasses glinting in the sun like that, but the vibes he was giving off were nowhere near pleasant.

And then it was suddenly gone. "Besides that, there's a more important matter we should be worrying about… like how screwed we are being late today of all days. Our head coach is Kataoka Tesshin. He's an especially scary guy. There's almost 100 members on the team, so coming in late like this... he probably won't even remember your name for the rest of your high school career."

Sawamura grew to a new level of panic. 'I would take Mitsuhide-dono's punishments any day then! I'll have to beg for forgiveness!'

'That's right, keep panicking.' Miyuki stifled a chuckle at Sawamura's growing dread. 'I'll be able to easily use you as a distraction this way.'

"A warrior isn't supposed to bow before a different lord right? Isn't it only after a samurai's lord dies? But Mitsuhide-dono's still alive… "

"…What are you babbling about?" He was thoroughly confused. "Hey man, chill. I got a plan."

"But this coach is younger than Mitsuhid-dono… So is he like a young lord then?"

"Oi, are you even listening to me?"

"I'll have to grovel before the young lord and pray my earnesty will be enough to remember me by!" He proclaimed holding up a clenched fist.

"What are you even sa-woaaahh!" His shirt was grabbed at the front and he was suddenly being half pulled, half dragged from out of their hiding spot at a dead sprint. "W-Wait, what are you-?!" But it was already too late. They were immediately in the lime lite of the coach now. There was no turning back. 'My plans! My beautiful plans!' Sawamura dragged him in front of coach Kataoka and dropping down to prostrate himself nearly making Miyuki fall down with him. 'Wow, this is embarrassing. We must make a hilarious sight.' He bowed politely to the coach.

Sawamura didn't look up from his dogeza as he shouted out. "We are terribly sorry for interrupting, but as you can see we are very late! No amounts of apologies or excuses can express our grievances for causing such disrespect!"

Silence. Absolute unwavering, dumbfounded silence.

Coach Kataoka glared down at them through his sunglasses. "You two, you've got guts being tardy on the first day! You think you're so special that you can have privileges apart from everyone else?!

"Absolutely not! I am worth less than the frass of maggots!"

Miyuki was barely able to stop the belch of laughter that was threatening to burst forth. 'Frass?! Really?! Of all the things to say! I don't know if I should be more impressed that he has such a creative tongue or that he knows what frass is.' Aside from the unexpected response from Sawamura, Miyuki could still feel when Coach Kantaoka's gaze leveled on him. "Sorry coach! I was irresponsible!"

"Miyuki, you know your position counts for nothing being late. Both of you go run for the rest of the morning practice!"

On the sidelines with the rest of the second and third years Kuramochi snickered. "Wow, he's a funny guy isn't he? I didn't think he'd do something like that! Ahaha!"

Masuko nodded. [They deserve it]

"The same goes for the two upper classmen rooming with him." Masuko and Kuramochi both turned pale and their back automatically straitened. Coach Kantaoka turned to them layering with them an icy glare. "You guys go run too."

The second and third year 'eeped'. Having the coach angry with you always meant certain doom.

And so the four of them started their run around the field, Masuko and Sawamura both crying silently.

"Damn it, we ended up getting dragged into it too." Kuramochi scowled.

[Sniff]

"Wakai-dono hates me!" (Young lord) The pitcher sniffled. "Why didn't either of you wake me?!"

"Don't blame us, you're old enough to take care of yourself. We shouldn't have to be responsible for you, it's your own damn fault." Kuramochi said kicking Sawamura in the back mid-jump.

[We're not babysitters]

"Ow! Don't hit me! And that's a lie and you know it! You were the one that kept saying we should play another round!"

"Kyahaha! And yet you agreed."

Miyuki sighed. "And to think my plan might have worked if Sawamura would have just listened to me and be a good distraction." Miyuki raised his voice purposefully. "But he doesn't like to listen to catchers! He'd rather do his own thing!"

"It probably wouldn't have worked anyway. Coach has eyes on the back of his head."

"That was an accident! I wa- Wait!" Sawamura shoved and accusing finger in Miyuki's direction. "  
You were going to use me as bait weren't you?!"

"Well I wouldn't call it bait per say, more like a decoy."

"What are you?! The devil?! You were gonna ditch me to Wakai-dono's wrath!"

"… Are you talking about Coach? Haha! What kind of name is that?"

"Don't change the subject!"

And that was pretty much how the rest of their morning went until it was put to and end by one of the other members of the team who came up to them saying it was time for breakfast. Thus, led to Sawamura sitting in front of a pork cutlet, miso soup, hourensou and a large bowl of white rice that was filled till it was reaching almost a foot in height.

He never thought the day would come that he would feel so intimidated towards his own food. 'This is not the sort of pressure I was looking forward to by coming here!' In the background a sign hanging on the wall reading, [Eat at least three bowls!] loamed over them like a curse. 'How… How?! This doesn't seem humanly possible for someone my size!' He looked to his right. They were all eating normally with smiles on their faces as they kept packing it in.

"What's wrong?" Miyuki asked from Sawamura's left. "If you don't eat everything, you won't be able to handle the afternoon practice."

'Common you can do this. Just one bite a time.'

His self-motivation didn't last very long.

'I can't do this!' His hand automatically came up to cover his mouth as he felt something attempting to come out of it.

"Ah! He's gonna puke!"

"Dude get out of here!"

"Do that shit outside!"

He was forced to take his breakfast outside at some point by the other baseball members with his continuous threats of regurgitating his food. But one way or another, he was somehow able to eat the required amount in the end. Having to run for so long in the morning and then eating past the point where he felt he would burst, he saw his circumstances justifying his current unsavory visage. "Uugg… I feel terrible." Leaning over and holding his stomach he stood back on the fields with a number of other first-years that were in similar situations. But all of the senior players who had run just as much as him were already back to their training, undeterred with having eaten 3 bowls of rice, or in Masuko's case 6. 'We're not that far apart age-wise, and yet the difference in power is this great?'

One of the assistant coaches spoke out towards the tenth-graders. "First-years! We'll be putting you in groups according to your desired position to test your ability! Put your spikes on and meet on B Grounds!"

'Does this mean…' An excited grin overcame Suwamura's expression. His pains seemed to miraculously disappear at the prospect of pitching as he was energized with anticipation. 'I'll finally get to start pitching to crazy batters again won't I? I've been waiting so long for this moment!'

He was practically bouncing out of his shoes as he followed the rest of the first-years. He was so ready for this! 'Bring it on!'

The coaches said something about waiting that the twitchy pitcher didn't catch before listing off each of the positions and pointing to where they would go. "First baseman's here, second baseman's here, shortstop's there…"

'Common say pitchers already! I wanna pitch right now!'

"-chers here, pitchers over ther-"

"Yes!" He sprinted to the nearby bullpens that already had crates full of baseballs set aside. He started stretching his arms with over the top enthusiasm. He suddenly stopped and looked around himself when he realized no one else was nearby. Turning back he learned why. Everyone was still over by the assistant coaches who were giving him the stink eye.

"Ahem!" One of the coaches started fractiously. "As I said before! Leave for your designated areas _after_ I go through all the positions…" He looked at Suwamura pointedly.

Oops…

Sawamura wasn't sure if he should return or stay put, he was already here. So there didn't seem to be a point for him to go back. He eventually decided to just continue his stretches from earlier with there being nothing else to do.

There was a total of 4 first-years gunning to be pitchers. One looked like his friend Ozan, another had on a really serious face and the last one was taller than the rest of them and looked like he was sleeping.

'…how is he still standing?'

"We'll start off with the basics, a grip and balance test. Then we'll move on to distance throwing and ball control and finish off with a stamina test." One of the managers came over with a small weird looking hand held device and handed it over to the assistant coach. "For this first test you just need to hold it like this in your throwing arm and have your arm straight up in the air. Then you will grip it as hard as you can while slowly bringing your arm back down in an arc." He looked to the one closest to him. "What is your name?"

"Kindaiyoshi Watani."

The older man handed off the device to him. "You'll be first then."

Sawamura went third. The coach stood in front of him delivering a chilling stare as he addressed him. "Well? What's your name then?"

He bowed. "Sawamura Eijun!" He was given the device and he gripped the trigger as hard as he could. The dial moved to the 48kg mark. Sawamura smirked, it was higher than what the other two had. "Um, coach, I was wondering. When can we pitch to the batters? Will we get to do a scrimmage?" He tried to keep his volume lower then it was wont to do when he got excited since the man was standing right next to him. His lack of composure gave away any feeling of calm he might have been trying to emulate.

Fortunately the coach didn't show any outward reaction besides writing down something on his clipboard before moving on to the next person.

It was the sleeping boy who was now suddenly awake, aware and acting as though nothing was amiss. He performed the task almost lazely, and yet the dial racked up all the way to 51kg. Sawamura's jaw dropped.

"Good job Furuya-kun, that was the highest yet."

Sawamura looked up at the taller boy with a scowl, jealous of the others higher performance. Furuya, even with his naturally neutral demeanor, somehow looked smug as he stared back at him.

They made eye contact and sparks suddenly appeared between them that was only broken by the coach who told them they would be moving on to the next test.

When Sawamura excelled in the balance test he smirked over at the silent boy who was wobbling in the positions the coaches were having them pose. A glare was returned with the same concentration. And their little rivalry they had going on only progressed from there. Furuya blew them all away with his insane throwing distance by landing the ball a whole 122 meters away and shattering Sawamura's 105 meters to smithereens.

But then what Furuya had in power, he lacked in control. Sawamura on the other hand had pretty good control of his pitches for a first-year. Their unofficial score was tied at 2-2 now.

"We'll be moving to the outfields to comense your stamina test with the right, center and left fielder groups."

With his arms crossed and a challenging gaze Sawamura stepped in front of the quiet pitcher. "This last one will be our duel breaker!"

Furuya didn't show any sign that he acknowledged the other boy until he was standing next to him as he walked by. "I won't lose." His said in a soft yet sharp tone.

They lined up with the other groups all facing towards the assistant coaches. "You will doing our special squat-thrust suicides for this endurance test. You will start at this point completing 10 squat-thrusts and then sprinting to the fence line, doing 10 more squat-thrusts and running back. And you will repeat this process for as long as you can. If I see you slacking off even a little bit, you will be told to stop. Keep in mind these scores are relayed to the head coach. You will begin at my whistle."

Tweet!

Sawamura was the second to last to collapse and conveniently right next to Furuya who was still laying on the ground despite being the first person to give out.

Wheezing Sawamura tried to gloat in his victory. "Huuuu! Ho… How a- Huf! About that!" The other pitcher just pulled himself up having rested enough and started walking away wanting to get away from his annoying adversary. Suwamura followed after him on wobbling legs. "Heee! Haaaa! Yuuuuuoo... You can't- huf! Run away!" He coughed a bunch and said something else but it just sounded like a deflating beach ball before he collapsed again.

The coaches had everyone cool down before they sent them off to go eat lunch and Sawamura found himself, once again, facing off the same enemy from that morning.

'Why?!' And, once again, was on the verge of puking as he was leaving the cafeteria with everyone else.

The rest of the day continued on with the new members taking turns taking part in defensive plays, diving practices, a special version of fast passing and running, lots and lots of running. And then it was suddenly over. The equipment was being put away and Suwamura stood there taken aback. 'Wait… that's it? But I didn't even get to pitch properly yet!' He was exhausted but he still felt antsy. 'I wanted to pitch!"

He sullenly left to go change out of his uniform and into some loose clothing like everyone else. After eating his supper in the cafeteria the rest of the night was the three hours of free time they had before they needed to get to bed.

'Uuurg! I gotta pitch!' It had been what? At least 24 hours since he had last really practiced his pitching. It was driving him nuts. He was gonna get rusty if he didn't pitch soon, was how he felt. But how? The rest of the first-years had already headed off to their accommodated rooms. Was there no one to catch for him here?!

He was leaning outside the cafeteria doors when he saw a couple of the seniors going around a corner carrying bats over their shoulders.

'…huh? But didn't they say practice was over?' He had to follow him. His curiosity was making him itch.

Following the group of second years lead him to an even larger gathering of other second and third years. 'What is this?' They were all vehemently swinging their bats in their own image training. 'Even the captain's here! They're all continuing to train even after practice lets out?! These guys...' Their drive put a thrilled smile on his face. 'This looks like fun!' He ran to the equipment shed to grab a bat for himself when he saw Miyuki Kazuya at the edges of the group. Sawamura barely thought about it before he abruptly changed his course towards the glasses wearing second-year. "You're a catcher!"

Miyuki stared. "Yes I am… and you're very observant." Miyuki said with a raised eyebrow.

Suwamura blinked and then turned pink in embarrassment. "I-I mean, you could. That is… would you catch for me?!" He stared at the catcher anxiously. "Right now!"

Miyuki thought about it. He had been wondering about when he could get around to dissecting this pitcher's techniques. If Sawamura really had as much talent and potential as he and Rei thought he did, then there was no doubt he would eventually have to catch for this guy. Now it was just a matter of if he should go ahead and just start examining this guy's pitches now. Or wait until the first-year made it into, at least, second-string because it wouldn't really be fair to the other pitchers in third and second-string. He was a regular after all, and showing that kind of favoritism to a newbie could bring all kind of discord. The kind of discord that had the impish part of him curious to how that would play out.

But Miyuki had some self-control. He could refrain himself from be so cruel as to torture this rookie on his first day… wait, he already tried to mess with Sawamura this morning… Guess he was that cruel.

But thinking back to the topic at hand. In the end, as long as he was being asked to catch for him after practice hours, others couldn't really complain. It was fair game. "Alright." So he guessed he could indulge this first-year a bit. "You just have to owe me a favor then." But he wasn't a saint.

"Anything!"

Oh the poor naïve fool was just begging for it. "Ok then, I'll just go get my gear then and we can meet in the indoor gym.

"Roger!" He already had his pitching glove on, and his clothes were comfortable and fitting enough to be able to pitch easily without hindrance so he went straight to the indoor gym. The lights were still on and there were several members who were there that were doing their own separate regimes. There was an area off to the side that looked like it was a rudimentary bullpen so Sawamura situated himself there. He occupied his time by stretching his arm, back and side muscles like he always did before pitching practice.

"Oh~ you're pretty flexible aren't you first-year?" Miyuki stood behind him geared up in his catcher's guards.

"I'm ready to go Miyuki-sempai!"

"Hehe. I can see that. Before we move on though I'd like it if you'd tell me a bit more about your pitching. You were a bit… bashful about sharing your skills the last time we played catch."

Sawamura's face turned a light shade of red, distressed more over the way the catcher worded it than anything. "I-I was not!"

"Sure. Sure. So anyway, about that two-seamer, what's the deal with that? Show me your grip for it."

Sawamura grabbed a baseball from the crates up against the wall and showed him.

'It's just a regular two-seamer grip.' Miyuki observed. "Did you have special training to make your pitches move the way they do?"

"Special training? Unless you're just talking about when coach first showed me the grip for the two-seamer then no, not really." Sawamura suddenly looked pleased rubbing the underside of his nose. "I have a wicked two-seamer, don't I? Mitsuhide-dono didn't believe I was using the proper grip either back then."

"Don't act so smug, you're control still needs work." Miyuki smirked at the first-year's indignant scowl. 'Every pitcher's physique affects the way they pitch in different ways. But it's really something else to have such a naturally moving fast ball.' He thought. "And how about your variations?"

Sawamura suddenly looked away embarrassed. "… about it…"

"… What was that? I couldn't hear you?"

"I'm not supposed talk about it." He mumbled.

"What? Why? … Oh! Is that why you were like that before? Your coach told you not to tell other teams about your abilities? You're on this team now, so there's no need to keep it secret from me anymore."

Sawamura just looked even more flustered. "That's… not it." He looked away as he reluctantly started fiddling with his glove and reach a finger behind the wrist strap.

Miyuki could see a small folded up paper being pulled out before it was grumpily handed to him. "What's this?" The only response he got was more inconsequential mumblings so he began to unfold the slip of paper.

[To whom it may concern, the purpose of this paper is to inform you about a certain feature in Eijun's pitching. If you don't already know, the current types of balls he can throw is the four-seamer, two-seamer and changeup. The first two still need work on their control and the changeup is still technically a work in progress, but it is also dependable in games situations.

The feature you need to be aware of the most however is what we call the variations. There are three in total and each represent the different points in which Eijun can release the ball. Variation 1 is when he releases the ball at the 12 o'clock point. Variation 2 is at the 11:30 mark and variation 3 is at the 9:30 mark, a little too high to be considered a sidearm throw. Each of these variations can be applied to each of his pitches.

As to why Eijun couldn't simply tell you himself, he's a bit of an eccentric and is very vehement on describing the variations the same way our coach had in the beginning, which had a lot of talk about axis rotation, Magnus force, angle breakage and the physics behind the body's rotation in a pitch. He might be the biggest idiot you will ever meet. But he's our idiot and if he's shown you this, then he's finally starting to mature if even a little. Please watch over him for us.

Sincerely,

The Akagi Team]

"…" His shoulders started to shake.

Sawamura crossed his arms and turned away with the stomp of his foot. "Che!"

Miyuki had a hand covering his mouth and he was slouching a bit now.

Sawamura kicked a pebble away.

Miyuki finnaly broke out into hystarics.

[P.S. Please reward him for actually using this by not laughing.] Was written at the very bottom.

He couldn't help but say it even if he tried. "What are you? A three-year old that needs an identification card?" And he continued to laugh.

Sawamura growled and snatched the paper back. "I take it back! I don't feel like pitching with you anymore!" He said stomping away.

The catcher tried to compose himself through his fits of giggles. "Ho- hehe. Hold on! Hold on! That wasn't very upperclassman-like of me. Come back here."

Turning around to glower at the second-year, Sawamura spoke out heatedly. "You're just gonna laugh some more! I don't have to stand and take this kind of abuse to my pride!"

"No. I'm done. I won't laugh at your child's safety card anymore."

"It's not a-!"

"And now that I know about _that_ , I want to see it for myself." He took a few steps back over a square mat meant to replicate home base and squatted down into position. "Well? I cut my batting practice off early to be here. Or are you really that fickle?" Miyuki said smirking at the frustrated pitcher. "You can start off by showing me your fastball in all three variations."

"Pickle headed louse! Someday your face will freeze like that and then you'll never get a date!" Gripping the baseball in his hand tightly he stalked up to the marker indicating the appropriate distance from the plate.

'This guy is too easy to direct… but he has some pretty interesting insults.'

'That prissy headed guy won't know what hit him!'

{}

Sawamura took staggering steps back to his dorm room after taking a bath. 'That annoying catcher is too exhausting to be around! I'm still not sure if I regret asking him to catch for me or not!' He had been deprived from really pitching the whole day after all and all of those tests were just teasing him. But being able to pitch to Miyuki had been both relieving and stressful.

Opening the door to his shared room he saw Kuramochi who looked to have just returned as well and was settling down to read one of his magazines. "Oh! You're finally back. Getting lost already? You country kids are completely hopeless here in the city."

"I was not lost! I was pitching to that annoying Miyuki guy!"

"Oh really?" Kuramochi said as he idly opened his wrestling magazine. 'That's surprising, he's already staying out late to practice on his first day.'

"Calling me a kid! He's just a year older than me!"

"I'm a year older than you, you better not treat me with the same disrespect."

Sawamura jerked away in concern for his own wellbeing at cruel grin on his upperclassman's face. "N-Never Kuramochi-sempaisama!"

Kuramochi smirked. "If you suck up to me now, I might even put a good word in to the coach about you. Does he even know your name yet?"

"AHHH! That's right! I never got a chance to introduce myself this morning like everybody else! I left a terrible first impression!"

"Haha! Or maybe you didn't leave any kind of impression and he already forgot about you."

Greiving over his bad luck he collapse into his bed smothering his face with a pillow.

Kuramochi chuckled a bit more before he mellowed out. "But even with Coach not knowing your name, you still have your whole 3 years to make up for today. Masuko-san's not back yet. Do you know why?"

Sawamura's head lifted up from his pillow a bit thinking. "He's not… He isn't still training is he?! But it's this late already!"

"He's a senior right now, he doesn't have any time left to relax. So he's probably out there somewhere swinging a bat… There's a lot of competition for third baseman you know. In our last game, just one… he made just one error and he was taken off the regular lineup." He didn't turn to look at his younger roommate. "I want to bat cleanup. I want to be the ace. I want to play in games… everyone comes here thinking that. But the truth of the matter is, there are only nine positions and almost a hundred players competing for them… Do you get what kind of place this is? Only the fittest make it and… the rest can only wait for the next chance. Everyone feels the pressure and not everyone can handle it." He looked up from his book thinking about when he first realized how insane this place was. The level of competition was almost too much to imagine. He had kicked and clawed his way up to his own position as first-string's shortstop. But even as a regular you couldn't let your guard down for a second. He learned that from unfortunate people like Masuko.

He turned to see what Sawamura thought about what he'd told him, but what he saw baffled him. 'What the- is he's laughing?!'

He was. But not out of humor. 'I'm really glad I decided to come here.' It was the laughter of a person who had no other way to release their built up enthusiasm. He couldn't control how impassioned he felt after hearing all of that from Kuramochi. How much louder it seemed to make his heart beat. 'This cut-throat kind of environment… it really is like nationals everyday here.' How could he not be excited?

* * *

 **Thankyou so much everyone for reviewing, favoriting and following, fellow writers know how much each one means to them. They are true inspirations for us. Please continue to let me know about any other ideas you guys might like to see in this story or just let me know if you liked this new chapter.**

 **Results for Sawamura's placement**

 **6 – jumps to first-string**

 **1 – starts in second-string**

 **2 – either/or**

 **Well that answers that! Thankyou all who helped with putting in your input. I'm pretty sure I'll be able to get to the battle of the first-years against the second and third-years in the next chapter.**

 **What did you think about how I explained Eijun's variations? Did it make sense? I was about to get into the effects each one had on the direction the ball would break but I didn't because I figured the Akagi team would know that whoever would end up reading their note would have to be knowledgable about that stuff since this is Seido and all. I may explain it later, I don't know. Is it boring reading about that stuff? I had a lot of fun looking it up online so I don't know. I would think all of us here have read Daiya no Ace so maybe you feel the same way.**

 **A/N: Poor Eijun, Kantako doesn't even know his name! Well he has a vague idea from Rei, but as far as he's concerned, Sawamura is just an irresponsible first-year among 30 other first-years. The only thing that he's stood out in is the fact that he was late. At least he apologized this time and was able to practice with the other first-years. Sawamura and Furuya's rivalry is already showing! Those two are too much fun together!**

 **Greekfreak101/rain – thankyou for your imputs!**

 **Rosa.C –It doesn't look like Sawamura will start out in second string, sorry. I agree that there needs to be some work done with Chris, the dude needs a light so his eyes aren't so dim anymore. I'll figure it out eventually how I'll have him be put in the picture.**

 **Ket546/Erika/Naliyu/zhette/Nathalia – Thankyou for your kind words!**

 **yolo xx – introducing Sawamura to Chris via second string game… hmmm, that's an interesting idea. Maybe Coach sees something in Sawamura that he needs to work on and doesn't what to show him to the more skilled teams until it's settled so he puts him in a second string game. It's definitely something to think about. Thankyou for that!**

 **AnhiVan – Quit making me blush!**

 **Lustrate – Making a list of what he looks for in a pitcher, that's a good idea. That'll probably help me a bunch. Thankyou!**

 **What to look forward to: Sawamura meets Mr. Tire**


End file.
